I’m not quite sure what this says about their customers, but from the start of this month you can get a free copy of Digital Photography Tips for Dummies with Konica Minolta 4x6-inch photo inkjet paper products (USA only).

Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A Press Release

Konica Minolta Announces Free “Dummies” Book with Photo Inkjet Paper Consumer Promotion

Mahwah, NJ (February 9, 2005) Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A., Inc. announces that from February 1, 2005 until April 30, 2005 consumers that purchase various Konica Minolta inkjet paper packs will immediately receive a free “Dummies” book.

“This innovative inkjet paper consumer promotion is designed to help educate consumers about both digital imaging and scrapbooking two very popular leisure-time activities,” said Todd Schrader, vice president of marketing for Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A., Inc. “At the same time, Konica Minolta continues to add value to these consumers interested in producing high-quality inkjet prints at home.”

Available for free to consumers is “Digital Photography Tips for Dummies” shrink-wrapped with Konica Minolta 4x6-inch photo inkjet paper products (a $1.99 retail value) and “Creating Scrapbooks for Dummies” shrink-wrapped with Konica Minolta 8.5x11-inch inkjet products (a $7.99 retail value). In addition, both of these books contain a consumer coupon for $2.00 off the purchase of any size or finish of Konica Minolta inkjet photo paper. The coupon expires December 31, 2005.

auspiciousdragon.net have published an extensive and informative report on using the 8-megapixel Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 digital camera for street photography in Hong Kong, comparing it along the way to the Leica M6 film camera.

“Quieter. Now that is a real advance.  Leica rangefinders have been the last word in quietness for decades.  Radio studios used to demand that photographers used Leicas so that no camera sound would be transmitted.  Yet, there is still the mechanical clunk and whirr of the shutter mechanism. The A2 is a close to being silent as is useful.  There is just the faintest of swishing noises as the aperture blades flick closed. Anywhere with background noise the Leica isn’t noticed but I did have several experiences where subjects were alerted to my presence by the shutter click.  This never happened with the A2.”

Website: auspiciousdragon.net - Street photography with a Minolta A2 and a Leica M6

The Sparrk Printable Photo Album will be on show at PMA 2005, which starts next Sunday (20th) in Orlando, USA. The Printable Photo Album is a software package that allows you to create and print photo albums directly using your computer and a printer.

Spaark Press Release

Spaark to demonstrate Printable Photo Album range at PMA 2005

Toronto, Canada, 8th February 2005 - Spaark will be demonstrating the unique Printable Photo Album solution at PMA 2005 in Orlando, Florida (Feb 20th-23rd). This follows a successful UK launch during 2004. The Spaark Printable Photo Album provides digital camera users with a complete solution to create and print albums direct from digital photos using a personal computer and inkjet printer. Available in a range of styles and sizes the Printable Photo Album includes software to create the album together with pre-cut punched inkjet papers which clip into the album covers.

Canto Cumulus 6.5 is a new version of the Canto’s digital asset management software program, aimed at the enterprise market. Cumulus 6.5 now supports Image Color Management (ICM).

Canto Press Release

Canto Cumulus 6.5 Delivers Digital Asset Management Throughout the Enterprise

Latest version is optimized for greater performance, improved workflow, convenient administration, and offers enhanced features for enterprise-wide deployment.

February 8, 2005 – San Francisco, Berlin. Canto, a global leader in Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions, today announced the release of Canto Cumulus 6.5 with enhancements designed to manage content more effectively and significantly reduce learning time for easier enterprise-wide deployment.

With its fast growing role as a core component of the enterprise infrastructure, the newest version of Cumulus focuses on simplifying administration with enhanced authentication methods including LDAP support and new administration tools for increased system control.

“Setting up a flexible solution that allows easy administration and intuitive workflow can be labor-intensive and complex,” said Ulrich Knocke, Canto’s Senior Product Manager. “With Cumulus 6.5, we’ve managed to add more functionality for enterprise-wide deployment and at the same time offer ease of use and help drive down the cost of implementing a valuable system. Cumulus 6.5 offers the benefits and technology required to manage the wealth of digital content large organizations work with daily, without the pain and expense of competitive solutions.”

DIWA member and Czech website FotoAparat.cz have just posted their review of the competitively priced 8 megapixel Olympus E-300 DSLR (also known as the Evolt in the USA).

Website: FotoAparat.cz - Olympus E-300 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Olympus E-300 / Evolt

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Shuttertalk have just reviewed the 8 megapixel Canon PowerShot Pro1 digital camera (found via DCViews).

“Canon have designed the PowerShot Pro1 from the ground up to attract experienced photographers who know what they want out of digital photography—the great zoom range, L-series lens, creative controls and professional construction add to the appeal. Canon’s flagship prosumer camera exudes quality, feels great in the hand and handles well. While it has no trouble in producing rich, contrasty and sharp images that have a lot of detail, it is let down by sluggish shot to shot times and noisy images at the higher ISO settings. In optimum conditions the Pro1 can defitely hold its own, but with the price envelope of Digital SLRs continually dropping and features such as image stabilisation being offered from other 8 megapixel contenders, the Pro1 certainly faces some stiff competition.”

Website: Shuttertalk - Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review

CNET have reviewed the new Sony DSC-P93, a 5-megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom.

“While not the fastest camera on the market, the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P93 holds it own when it comes to performance. From a power-off position, we were able to start up the camera and click off the first shot in less than 3 seconds. An average of about 3 seconds—give or take a few, depending on whether the flash was used—was also acceptable. And the P93 managed a respectable burst-shooting rate of 1.4fps. With our standard 1,850mAh nickel-metal-hydride AA batteries, the P93 kept on going for almost 1,000 shots.”

Website: CNET - Sony DSC-P93 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Sony DSC-P93

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The Fujifilm Finepix E500 is Fuji’s entry into the crowded entry-level digital camera market. This is a 4 megapixel model that offers a couple of interesting features to help differentiate itself from the competition. The Finepix E500 has a 28-91mm zoom lens and also offers full photographic control in the form of aperture-priority, shutter-priority and manual modes. The Fujifilm Finepix E500 allows you to take full creative control if you desire it, or you can use the various auto and scene modes instead and let it make the decisions. So does the Finepix E500 appeal to the photographer in me? Read my review to find out.

Website: Fujifilm Finepix E500 Review

Digital Photography Internationale Press Release

Digital Photographers from Four Countries Collaborate On Photo Book for Tsunami Charities

Digital Photography Internationale Partners with Lulu.com for Speedy Publishing Effort: A group of digital photographers from the U.S., Norway, Australia and Germany have collaborated on a full-color photography book to benefit tsunami-relief charities. Titled “Images to Brighten Our World,” the book is available through the publish-on-demand technology of Lulu (www.lulu.com). For more information on the book, go to www.DPInternationale.com.

(PRWEB) February 10, 2005—Thirteen photographers from across the world watched images of the Indian Ocean tsunami with the same paralyzed horror as did the rest of us. Photographers are usually the recorders of images, not subjects of their power. But when the photographers who make up Digital Photography Internationale (http://dpinternationale.com) — an online guild of digital photographers from the U.S., Germany, Australia, and Norway — saw photographs of the terrible devastation in South Asia, they asked the same question that people everywhere asked themselves: “What can I do to help?” Their answer: use Lulu (www.lulu.com) to publish “Images to Brighten Our World,” a 110-page full-color book of stunning images, with all proceeds benefiting tsunami-related charities.

Panasonic have announced that they have developed the smallest CMOS sensor in the world, which allows 2 million pixels on a 1/4-inch MOS sensor instead of 1 million.

Panasonic Press Release

Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) Develops World’s Smallest 2.0µm-Pixel MOS Image Sensor

2.0μm-pixel MOS image sensor (2.0μm-pixel MOS image sensor, 27KB)
Technological Developments

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, today announced the development of the world’s smallest image sensor. The revolutionary MOS image sensor has only 2.0 × 2.0 μm pixels which is now officially the world’s smallest sensor, where the previous standard was 3.1 μm. Matsushita’s technological breakthrough allows two million pixels on a 1/4-inch MOS sensor instead of one million. This size reduction was also achieved without sacrificing sensitivity by minimizing the number of transistors required for each pixel. Details of the sensor will be presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) held in San Francisco during February 6 - 10, 2005.

Operation Photo Press Release

Operation Photo Announces Press Conference to Present Donated Digital Cameras to Military Families on Valentine’s Day and Extends National Initiative through Independence Day, 2005

Operation Photo, the national initiative founded by 30 Minute Photos Etc. to raise used digital cameras for donation to military families will hold a joint press conference with Operation Homefront, the non-profit military family support organization, to present donated digital cameras from across the nation to military families on Valentine’s Day.

(Irvine, CA) February 10, 2005—This is a national Valentine’s Day story certain to capture everyone’s emotions: Since its grassroots launch just one month ago, Operation Photo has received donated digital cameras from people and companies across the nation for donation to military families. www.operationphoto.us along with www.operationhomefront.net will host a press conference to discuss this national grassroots campaign in front of “a wall of digital cameras.” The initiative has been covered extensively by the digital camera, photography and military family support media and websites. National media including “The Chicago Tribune” and a live interview on the Fox Network News helped garner attention for this effort. Founded by Mitch Goldstone, a well-known photo industry leader and owner of 30 Minute Photos Etc., his objective was to boost morale of deployed service members and their families through the power of photographs. Goldstone got the id ea during a 7:00 AM call from professional photographer Jennifer Petersen (Ladera Ranch, CA ) who explained how important sharing pictures is for families separated by military deployment. Within hours he linked up with Operation Homefront and reached out to his national database of online photo customers—because all of them own digital cameras and many had older models packed away in their “appliance draws.”

Sanyo Xacti DSC-S5 has been introduced today by Sanyo Japan. The Xacti DSC-S5 is a 5 megapixel digicam with the same 1/2.5” sensor size as the previous DSC-S4 and DSC-S3 models that were announced in 2004.  Launched on February 15th in Japan, the DSC-S5 will cost ¥35,000 (around $330).

Website: Sanyo Japan - Sanyo Xacti DSC-S5

The latest issue of the monthly online photo magazine, Vivid Light Photography, has just been published. Once again there are some great articles to get you thinking - here are a couple of my favourites:

- Image Sushi: Sometimes Raw is Better
” The mantra “start with a high quality image” should always be your guide. If you rely on making a lot of adjustments afterwards, you’ll spend more time behind the keyboard than behind the camera and that’s not an acceptable option. But if you’re on a critical shoot or in a once in a lifetime location under tricky light, then shooting raw gives you the option to go back in time and make a different set of decisions should the worst happen. Raw is also a great tool to help you understand just what different camera settings can and can’t do for your images.”

- Do You Comb Your Face?
“In photography, light is the tool with which we work. Cameras, lenses and a whole host of related doo-dads are simply tools that help us harness light. Most folks who get serious about photography get pretty good at the basics of camera operation and exposure, and after a while their images are sharp and well composed. But I would venture that many, too many, never truly come to understand light. And past a certain point are embarrassed to admit it, even to themselves.”

Website: Vivid Light Photography - Issue #40

Nikon have released a new version of their Capture 4 raw conversion software for Nikon digital SLR cameras (found via Rob Galbraith).

What is new/Content Description

  1. Support for the D2X has been added.
  2. The “Digital DEE” function has been replaced by the improved “D-Lighting” function.
  3. The “Color Noise Reduction” functions has been improved.
  4. A “Find Tool” option has been added to the View menu.
  5. “Straighten” Tool added to Image menu.
  6. A Check for updates option has been added to the Help menu.
  7. Camera Control can now be used over a wireless connection to the Wireless Transmitter WT-2 and D2X.
  8. A problem that prevented Nikon Capture from launching with some systems running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP 2) has been corrected.

There are numerous feature additions and improvements to this new version of Nikon Capture, see the accompanying “Read Me” for specifics. This updater will update any version of Nikon Capture 4 to the latest 4.2 release.

Nikon Capture supports NEF editing from the D1-series, D2-series, D100, D70 and all Coolpix cameras with the ability to shoot NEF images. Be aware that Nikon Capture Camera Control does not support Coolpix cameras. See the included “Read Me” file for a complete list of new features and changes.

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 (Windows)

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 (MAC)

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 Windows

Luminous Landscape have today published a new article on the subject of RAW files by Michael Tapes. I personally shoot exclusively using the RAW format, “developing” my images in Capture One Pro.

“The JPEG shooter and the RAW shooter both capture RAW data. The JPEG shooter uses the camera as their RAW converter (developer) and is willing to give up the potential to do a better development in the future. The RAW shooter, saves the RAW data (and maybe a camera developed JPEG as well) so that the potential of the image can be maximized by using his or her RAW converter of choice. Or by developing a critical image on several RAW converters to find which one produces the best rendition of a particular image the best (Neither Capture One or Adobe Camera RAW, or others, will yield the best rendition on ALL images, so having more than one “developer” (RAW converter) is a common practice and a good idea. One main converter for best workflow and image quality, and another (or more) for those certain images that might need a different twist,  or turn.”

Website: Luminous Landscape -  Looking at RAW From a Different Perspective

It was only announced yesterday, but DCResource have already reviewed the 5 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. With a 12x image stabilized Leica lens, the DMC-FZ5 improves on the DMC-FZ3 by offering faster auto-focus and improved body design, as well as more megapixels.

“The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 is a very good ultra zoom camera, just like its predecessor. Some of the changes were welcome: a higher resolution CCD, larger LCD, and much faster focusing. Some things got a bit worse: the lens is now slower. And some things didn’t change: composing photos in low light is frustrating. But if you don’t want to carry around the monster that is the DMC-FZ20, this is a great choice. The FZ5 takes very sharp (maybe too much so) 5 Megapixel photos with nice color and no purple fringing. The lens on this camera, while not as nice as the one on the FZ20, is still way better than average: F2.8-3.3, 12X zoom. Did I mention the great image stabilizer feature?”

Website: DCResource - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5

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Olympus America have just started a rebate offer on the 8 megapixel Olympus E-300 Evolt DSLR and the 7 megapixel C-7000 Zoom (also known as the C-70 Zoom in Europe) digital cameras. $100 rebate is available to residents of the USA, Canada and the Caribbean.

Website: Olympus USA Press Release - Olympus E-300 / C-7000 Rebates

Write a Review of the Olympus E-300

Check the Latest Prices for the Olympus C-7000 Zoom

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This press release is obviously biased to Sandisk’s product range, but it does contain some useful tips for new digital camera owners nonetheless.

Sandisk Press Release

SANDISK OFFERS POST-HOLIDAY TIPS FOR GETTING THE MOST OUT OF A NEW DIGITAL CAMERA OR CAMERA PHONE

Here Is What Every New Camera Owner Should Know About Selecting and Handling Flash Storage Cards

Sunnyvale, CA, Feb. 8, 2005 – With 3.8 million digital cameras sold in the U.S. during the December holidays, representing a 28 percent increase over the previous December*, plenty of people are now experimenting with their new cameras and learning about the use and care of flash memory cards. SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the world’s largest manufacturer of flash memory card products, offers important advice for photo enthusiasts on how to get the best performance from their digital storage media.

Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 is to be unveiled at PMA 2005. The MP-70 is specifically designed for printing credit sized photos from infrared enabled camera-phones at 254dpi. A small adapter can also be fitted to the Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 to connect it to a PictBridge-compatible digital camera.

Fujifilm USA Press Release

FUJIFILM UNVEILS PORTABLE, WIRELESS CAMPHONE PRINTER

Palm-Sized Printer Enables New Markets, Consumer Applications

Valhalla, NY, February 8, 2005 - Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. today announced the next step in printing solutions for today’s digital imaging generation. The new Fujifilm Digital Mobile Printer MP-70 - the first portable, handheld wireless printer specifically designed for the accelerating US camera phone market - creates a credit card sized, photo from an infrared enabled camera phone in about 20 seconds.

“The digital camera market exploded before the infrastructure to provide simple, quick prints was ready,” noted Bill Drysdale, Vice President, Marketing, Digital Devices Division, Fujifilm Imaging Group. “We’re taking steps to make sure that when the next generation of high-resolution camera phones reach mass market levels, the industry is already there.”

Fujicolor Pro 160S and Pro 160C colour films. “Fujicolor Pro 160S and 160C are films for the digital age and are representative of Fujifilm’s continued commitment to professional photographers, whether they prefer to shoot in the digital or film mediums,” said Steve Herstatt, Marketing Director.

Fujifilm Press Release

FUJIFILM HIGHLIGHTS NEW GENERATION OF PROFESSIONAL COLOR NEGATIVE FILM

FUJICOLOR PRO 160S and PRO 160C Seamlessly Integrate with Professionals’ Digital Workflow

Valhalla, NY, February 8, 2005 - Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of digital imaging products and services, is featuring two medium-speed color negative films for professional use - Fujicolor Pro 160S and Pro 160C - at the 2005 Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Trade Show. With smooth skin tone rendition, unprecedented neutral gray balance, exceptionally fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, these two new films represent the leading edge of Fujifilm’s color negative film technology. They were designed to be optimized for digital scanning and printing systems, resulting in a smooth hybrid film/digital workflow.